Tree surgeon qualifications: NPTC units, CS numbers and client asks

What counts as tree surgeon qualifications

Tree surgeon qualifications can feel like alphabet soup when you first chase them. On a wet Tuesday, with saws to sharpen and the truck half loaded, you just want to know what buyers mean. In practice it comes down to two brands of ticket for most work, NPTC units from City & Guilds and LANTRA awards. Add first aid with forestry content, a clean set of LOLER tags on your climbing kit and a decent RAMS, and you have the bones of competence. The rest is matching units to the jobs you do.

City & Guilds NPTC is the gold standard many clients name for chainsaw and aerial work, because it uses independent assessment. LANTRA delivers solid training too, and for some subjects, such as woodchipper and stump grinder, buyers will often accept LANTRA Integrated Training and Assessment. Smaller domestic clients rarely ask, but as soon as you touch a council, a utility, a rail environment or a Tier 1 contractor, you will be asked to show unit codes, cards and dates. Keep them tidy and easy to share.

You will still hear the old CS numbers on site. CS30, CS31, CS38 and CS39 are the familiar ones. The current City & Guilds NPTC units carry three digit numbers instead. For example, chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting are 201 and 202, felling small trees is 203, climbing and aerial rescue are 206 and 306, and using a saw in the tree is 308. When a buyer writes CS38 on a form, send the modern equivalents and include the mapping on your cover note.

NPTC units and the CS numbers you still hear

Here is how the common tickets line up in plain language. CS30 was always two parts, maintenance and cross cutting. City & Guilds NPTC now lists those separately as 201 and 202. Together they cover safe starting and checks, chain fitting and sharpening, fueling and tension, site safety, assessing timber, accurate cross cutting and snedding on the deck. That pair is the entry point for almost every role, and most commercial clients will not let you near a saw without them, which is fair enough.

CS31 used to be the small tree fell. Today that skill sits in 203, felling and processing up to 380 millimetres at felling height. The assessment looks for planning the escape route, accurate gob and back cuts, wedge use, dealing with lean, tension and compression, and hung up trees without a hero act. You are also judged on site organisation, debranching without hitting your shins, and stacking timber safely for extraction. Many firms will pair a new ground worker on 201/202 with an experienced 203 holder until they find their feet.

Felling bigger stems and dealing with storm damage are separate skills. Large tree felling sits at a higher level, often shown as Level 3 units in course information, and windblown or multiple windthrow is another assessment again. Buyers sometimes write CS32 or CS34 from memory. If you do work where size or site makes that likely, expect to be asked for evidence of the higher felling ticket and recent experience on similar jobs. If you do not have it, sub it out and avoid the temptation to wing it.

Aerial cutting with a saw was known as CS39. The modern NPTC unit that covers free fall cutting from a rope and harness is 308. That is the ticket buyers usually mean when they say the climber must be qualified to use a saw in the tree. It does not cover rigging or complex dismantles. If you intend to lower sections on ropes, or to rig out heavy pieces in tight areas, you will need further assessed competence for aerial tree rigging, commonly seen as unit 309 in course listings.

If you are not sure what they actually check, we wrote a short guide called tree surgeon insurance that walks through the documents buyers request.

Ground saw work, maintenance, cross cut and small felling

A decent 201 and 202 operator builds jobs on solid basics. They check chain brake and throttle lockout, fill on a drip tray, start safely, clear an escape route and keep both feet on the deck. They cross cut with wedges ready, watch for bar pinch, and read timber so they do not send a log into a greenhouse. They can change a chain without chewing the drive links to bits. If you are the employer, this is what PUWER is about in practice, competent use of work equipment.

Unit 203 takes that base and adds planning and safe fell on small diameter stems. On a rough roadside verge you will be expected to manage the public, deal with dead wood that twists on the hinge, and stack the brash so a cone truck can get past. You will also be expected to stop if your plan will not work, then fetch help or different kit. A clean 203 operator saves injuries and saves time, which is why buyers ask for it on written job briefs.

Storm wood looks easy until you watch a trapped bar bite back. Compression, tension and sprung crowns make fools of clever people. Units that deal with windblow are there for a reason, they teach step cuts, bore cuts, safe butt release and how to walk away from the questionable ones. If you only fell garden conifers on calm days, you probably do not need that assessment. If you work call outs in bad weather for councils or utilities, you will almost certainly be asked for it.

Climbing, aerial rescue and working with a saw in the tree

Climbing is where buyers get twitchy, and rightly so. The old CS38 is now covered by two NPTC units, 206 for getting into the tree on rope and harness, and 306 for carrying out an aerial rescue. They are often trained and assessed together. No one should be climbing without a second competent person on site who can get them down, with a rescue kit that actually fits the climber. If you run small teams, plan who rescues who before the truck leaves the yard.

If the climber will run a top handled saw, buyers look for 308 as well. That assessment is about controlled free fall branch removal, positioning and one handed use done correctly. It is not the end of the story. High cuts over a conservatory usually involve lowering, redirects and bollards. Separate rigging competence is expected for that. Regardless of techniques, every climbing job should start with a rescue plan and a walk through. A laminated sheet on a clipboard is no use if no one has read it.

Tree work eats kit. Climbing lines, lanyards, slings, karabiners, friction devices and anchors all have limits, and not every shiny thing on Instagram is suitable for your trees. Pre use checks and logs matter. So does first aid with forestry content, the +F bit that covers catastrophic bleeds, hypothermia and remote access. If you are a small outfit, practise tourniquets and emergency bleeds on a quiet afternoon. It feels daft at first, then you realise it is worth more than a new top handled saw.

If you need a specimen document to show at PQQ stage, the Tree Surgery RAMS page explains what clients expect to see.

LANTRA tickets, other courses and keeping current

LANTRA is not a poor relation. LANTRA Awards deliver good training and assessment, and councils often accept LANTRA certificates for kit like woodchippers and stump grinders, where the key is safe set up, guarding and feed technique rather than aerial rescue. For climbing and chainsaw use in the tree, most commercial buyers still prefer City & Guilds NPTC independent assessment. That is not a law, it is a procurement habit. Ask what they will accept before booking time off work, then get the thing that will be checked.

Competence fades if you do not use a skill for months. HSE and AFAG guidance expect periodic refresher training and practice, and many insurers mirror that in policy wording. A simple matrix helps, date your last climb assessment, your last aerial rescue drill, your last woodchipper session and your first aid renewal. Then plan refreshers before someone chases you. If a buyer asks when you last practised rescue, a dated note and a photo of the kit laid out on the yard usually ends the conversation.

Plenty of tree work happens from MEWPs, especially over glass roofs and live roads. Make sure the operator has evidence of competence on that category, for example IPAF or similar, and make sure the rescue plan fits the machine, not just rope work. Your climbing and rigging gear is classed as lifting equipment and needs thorough examination and reports. Keep your kit marked and your certificates matched to serial numbers, so no one argues on site about what was actually inspected.

What clients and councils really ask for

In pre qualification or a tender return you will usually be asked for names, roles and unit codes for each person, copies of certificates, and proof of insurance. Expect a box on the form that still says CS38 or CS39. Translate it politely and attach your unit list anyway. Helpful buyers just want enough comfort that you are competent for the scope. Ugly ones want an excuse to thin the list. Make it easy, use clear file names and tidy scans. Grainy photos of cards slow everything down.

On insurance, buyers will want Employers’ Liability if you employ anyone, and Public Liability with a limit that matches the job risk. Some will ask for Professional Indemnity if you advise on tree condition. Utilities and councils look for cover for felling next to highways and rail. If you are not sure what they actually check, we wrote a short guide called tree surgeon insurance that walks through the documents buyers request.

RAMS are checked more than ever. The risk assessment should name the site specific hazards, from overhead lines to access routes for rescue, and the method should cover exclusion zones, traffic control and how you will stop a hung up job turning into bravado. If you need a specimen document to show at PQQ stage, the Tree Surgery RAMS page explains what clients expect to see. Then adapt it for the actual tree, not a generic oak from three jobs ago.

Expect to upload a current LOLER report for climbing and rigging gear, a maintenance record for saws and chippers to satisfy PUWER, and first aid certificates that include forestry content. Some buyers will ask for evidence of recent aerial rescue practice too. If your kit is in a heap and your paperwork is on three phones, the process is painful. Spend an hour building a clean folder that mirrors the questions you get asked most, and share a link before anyone has to email you twice.

Common trip hazards in pre qual are names not matching certificates, expired ID cards, and missing serial numbers on LOLER reports. Fix those before you click upload. Agree who in your crew keeps the file current, and stick to it. When a job changes late, tell the buyer which tickets you will add on the day and who is on call for rescue. The calm, straight email gets you invited back. No drama, no chasing, just tidy competence that shows in the work too.

Questions we get asked

Do I need CS38 to be a groundie?

No. For ground work buyers usually expect 201/202 for maintenance and cross cutting and 203 for small tree felling. When climbing is taking place there must be a competent rescuer available with current climbing and aerial rescue competence, which aligns with duties in the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Are LANTRA tickets accepted by councils?

Often, yes, for woodchippers, stump grinders and similar equipment. For climbing and chainsaw use in the tree, many councils and Tier 1 contractors prefer City & Guilds NPTC assessment. Always check the tender or pre qualification form and match what they ask for.

How long do NPTC units last?

NPTC certificates do not have a legal expiry date, but buyers and insurers expect you to keep skills current. HSE and AFAG guidance recommend periodic refresher training and practice, and you should also keep aerial rescue drills recent and recorded.

What LOLER records do I need for my climbing kit?

Keep thorough examination reports, kit registers with unique IDs, and evidence of defect rectification. LOLER 1998 reg 9 sets periods of thorough examination, typically every six months for equipment used to lift people and every twelve months for other lifting gear, plus after exceptional circumstances.

Do I need first aid +F for tree work?

You need first aid that is suitable for the risks. Forestry content, often written as +F, covers catastrophic bleeding, hypothermia and remote work, and many buyers require it. Keep certificates handy and make sure your site kit matches what you are trained to use.

The short version

Tree surgeon qualifications boil down to the right mix of City & Guilds NPTC units for chainsaw and aerial work, LANTRA where it fits, first aid with forestry content, LOLER paperwork and tidy RAMS. Map the old CS numbers to current unit codes and present them clearly.

Commercial clients and councils will check competence, insurance and plans before they let you on site. Keep unit cards, LANTRA certificates, LOLER reports and rescue drills in one clean folder, and you will spend your evenings sharpening chains instead of chasing paperwork.